Orkney Dragonhead Stout (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Stout
Stromness, Orkney, Highlands & Islands, Scotland

Bottle at home. Appears as an opaque black beer with a large dense cafe latte coloured head that provides decent lacing. Strong roasted malt aromas of burnt coffee beans, bitter dark chocolate with hints of herbal hops and smokiness. Nice and smooth on the palate with a medium body and bittersweet dark malt flavours before a gentle spicy hop finish. At 4% ABV it is less rich and filling than other stouts I have tried but I am certainly not complaining.

Pours jet black with the deepest mahogany fringes, a nice tan head that leaves dense soapy lace. The nose is of fresh cocoa powder, legumes and some peat. Herbal bitters and roasted bitter chocolates, some freshly picked uncooked green beans, greenery and other legumes in the flavor. The finish is of herbal bitters. Dry mouthfeel alongside a light palate complexity.

(bottle) Dark brown colour with a dense and thick foamy head. Slightly sweet and moderately roasted dark malty aroma with notes of (milk-)chocolate, leather, mocha, peat and subtle berry-fruity notes. Moderately bitter flavour, light to medium bodied with a smooth carbonation. Dry mouthfeel, moderately roasted and peaty malty taste with notes of chocolate and subtle fruits; dry and moderately roasty and hop bitter, also a bit slim finish. Still a very aromatic and peaty Stout. 09.XI.09

Bottle. Similar to the Old Ale. But a little more bitter. Good. Dark, and roasty. Good flavor. Would drink again. Recommed.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a tan head. Aroma is roasted maltm, fruit. Flavour is roasted malt, fruit, coffee, apple. Medium body. OK beer.

50cl dark brown bottle, label different from the one pictured (it’s black, like the beer). Colour is pitch black, with a impressively huge, soapy beige head. Decent retention, generous lacing. Intense aroma of caramel, oak and banana, with a slight note of vanilla. Low to medium carbonation, medium body, smooth mouth feel. Taste is mostly of roasted malt - again, nowhere near as sweet as the smell indicated. Coffee dominates throughout, with a whiff of vanilla on top. Kind of like a strong Italian lungo with whipped cream. Stout character is not dissimilar to Guinness Draught Original. Short bitter finish and mildly coffeeish after taste. Not the most complex stout in the world, nor one of the heavier ones, but it’s impressive for its dry character and easy drinkability. For those who like their stout lean and dry, this is actually nicely sessionable.

500 ml bottle. Freebie from a friend on Halloween. Pours a dark dark brown with a dark khaki colored head. Looks good in the glass and leaves painted wall of lace on the glass as it recedes. Light aroma of roasted malts and alcohol. Not overpowering. Crisp and dry on the palate with a strong taste of hops and charred oak. I don’t get as much malt taste as I would like in a stout. What I do get is the bitter finish of an ale and that omnipresent char. This is not a bad brew. Turn down the char and it would be better. I would buy again if only to see if maybe the batch that produced my bottle had been overdone on the roasting.

Compact 500ml bottle carried back home from Centra Colosseum Park, Oslo. The beige-brownish head stays well and is packed with small dimples. More or less Devil black in body appearance. Nice label, too. Prominent smell of dark chocolate with hints of liquorice. Taste of peatsmoke malts and roasted grain, paired with hints of leafy hops developing into a relatively short bitter ending. Dry textured. Good, but a bit thin bodied. However, a beer that grows on your palate (at home, Tromsø 23.10.2009).